Sweden’s prestige industrial output bring some sharp-edged ingenuity into the London live arena.

I like to consider Peter Tägtgren the Johnny Depp of metal. Not only does this man have quite the repertoire of turning every album he writes or produces into absolute gold, he also kind of looks like him. He is a man to be idolised, churning out albums I have loved for years including ‘The Arrival‘ with Hyprocrisy and ‘Rebirth‘ with Pain, and tonight he is bringing his crew from the latter band to show London how industrial metal is done.

It’s my first time seeing Pain in a headline role, and finally an opportunity to see the band expand their setlist with songs that go back into their discography rather than just the more recent ones. The band are immediately setting the tone for the evening though with the air-pumping ‘Designed To Piss You Off‘.

What’s actually made this performance instantly incredible is not that crazed stage presence the Pain crew have brought out, but the unbelievable sound the band have managed to conjure in a venue that’s notorious for muffling even the most technical of bands. The pulsating rhythms of ‘Suicide Machine‘ resonate perfectly with the industrial guitar attack. Being a producer it’s probably of the upmost importance to Tägtgren to have a perfectly balanced live sounds, but it’s still a remarkable feat.

The amalgamation of sound and perfectly timed facial expressions of the band in tracks such as ‘End of the Line‘ and ‘Pain in the Ass‘ really deliver the energy that would be required in receiving a Pain performance, impressive as such as the band are locked behind instruments.

Pain are obviously well known here, and blantantly respected. When it came time to wrap up the classics of ‘Same Old Song‘ and ‘Shut Your Mouth‘, practically the whole venue was moving, and if someone had only come to the show to quell curiosities, they were singing along to the hooks. A grand performance to a band who deserve the crown of kings of industrial metal.